Shower bath cabinet



Aus 13, 1935. A. E. JQ'ES f 2,010,364

SHOWER BAT CABINET Filed Nov. 6, 1933 Patented Aug. 13, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE 2,010,864 SHOWER BATH CABINET Application November 6, 1933, Serial No. 696,805

'l Claims.

This invention relates to shower cabinets, and amongother objects aims to provide an inexpensive yet durable and serviceable knock-down shower cabinet. The nature of the invention may be readily understood by reference to one illustrative construction embodying the invention and shown in the accompanying drawing.

In said drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled shower cabinet;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the rcabinet on a considerably larger scale, taken on the plane 2-2 ofl Fig. 1 and 15 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section through the cabinet on a smilarlyenlarged scale, taken on the plane 3-3 oflig. l.

The design of the illustrative shower cabinet has been influenced largely by considerationsV of cost, and the structural details thereof have been devised to reduce cost with due consideration of course to quality and performance of the product. 'I'he latter require that the product be attractive and durable, have a joint construction which will not leak even under the strains to which a shower cabinet in ordinary use is subjected, and yet be capable of ready assembly at theplace of installation.

The details of design of the knock-,down shower cabinets now on the market are not capable of embodiment in a cheap shower construction, since the methods of fabrication which the former structure requires, render it impossible to sell such cabinets at prices which would reach the Y large market supplied by the present cabinet, namely, the market of small cottages, particularly summer cottages, small and inexpensive homes, and modern tenement apartments. Had the former cabinets beeninherently suited to reach i the market in question, it would obviously have been simpler to adapt suchl cabinets to that field,

than to develop a different cabinet.

-It will be noted that in the illustrative shower` cabinet the metal has been` fabricated by low 45 cost methods. For example, the side walls I0 are made in simple, easily handled sections from a thin gage sheet metal such as twenty-six gage galvanized iron, which is appropriately reinforced by a series of easily formed, 'inwardly proiecting vertical ribs II. These ribs are formed in pairs which are spaced a distance apart substantially vgreater than the distance between the ribs of each pair, thereby giving an artistic ef- 55 fect to the exterior of the side walls. The side guard and the walls are also reinforced at certain corners as presently described.

The shower receptor I2 is also relatively inexpensive. In the present case it is formed from relatively thin gage metal such as sixteen gage 5 galvanized iron. The sides I3 of the receptor are integral with the bottom and serve to support the side walls which are connected thereto.

A guard I4 is placed on the interior of the receptor just below the lower edge of the side walls 10 to prevent splashing water from reaching the joint between the side walls and the receptor, and to prevent contact of the person using the shower with the' lower ends of the ribs -II and other parts ogthe side walls which might be sharp. The g rd in the present case is formed of sheet metal and lpresents an inwardly projecting horizontal rib having inclined faces I5 which extend from' the apex I6 of the rib'to the sides of the receptor. splashing water is thus deflected away from the joint between the side walls and the receptor. The guard also serves to prevent water 'from splashing up through the hollow ribs II. Any moisture reaching the interior of .these ribs can extend upwardly only a short distance and 4in no case reach the exterior. It simply drains back into the interior of the receptor. The lower inclined face I5 of course deflects water which otherwise might reach the joint between the receptor sides.

The guard I4 isadvantageously connected to the receptor side walls by means of a return bend I1 along the upper margin I8 of the receptor side. Thus the raw and possibly sharp upper edge of the receptor is covered and the receptor is given ,5 the round smooth nish which is particularly important along the portion I9 which serves as the threshold for the opening in the receptor. It will be noted that the guard may be formed by simple metal bending operations. 40

The side walls I0 are connected to the receptor in the present case by bolts 20 which pass through registering holes in the side walls, guard, and receptor. Such holes of course are formed when the parts of the shower cabinet are manufactured so that on assembly nothing need be done but pass the bolts through the registering openings. A's here shown, the bolts are located between ,the ribs comprising each pair.

The upper edge of the side wall is finished by a thin gage sheet metal angle 2l whose vertical flange lies along the outer surface of the upper margin of the side walls and whose horizontal iiange extends inwardly over the upper edge of the side walls and the ribs I I. The angle member 2l terminates at the edges 22 of the doolr opening. Appropriate bracing across the door openadjacent the door opening. Thus danger of splashing through the door opening may be effectively prevented. The shower head 26 advantageously projects inwardly from one of the front corners of the cabinet so that the force ofthe water is directed toward the rear of the cabinet and away from the door opening.

'I'he sides of the door opening are finished with hollow sheet metal stiles 21 formed of flat strips bent into rectangular form. The stile is installed in such a manner that the free edges 28 of the strip from which it is formed are located at the front gf the cabinet and away from the door opening, so as to receive the side margins 29 of the side walls adjacent the door opening. Preferably the front face 30 of the stiles is cut away at the top and bottom where it underlaps the guard I4 of the receptor sides to bring the front face of the stiles 30 forward so that the slot in the stiles for receiving the side wall margins 29 will be in alignment with the plane of the side walls. To lock the side wall margins in the stiles, the upper and lower corners of the margins 29 are bent inwardly as shown in curved lines at 32 (Fig. 2). 'I'his may be eiected readily by inserting pliers or other appropriate tool into the stile at the points where the upper and lower ends of the face 3U are cut away and bending the corners sharply back. The stiles are advantageously connected to a receptor as at 33 by bolts which pass through the stile, the receptor sides and the guard I4. The upper ends of the stiles are appropriately bolted at 34 to the angle member 2|.

To facilitate fabrication and also assembly of the cabinet at the place of installation, the side walls are advantageously made in sections. In the present case three sections are employed, one being the back wall section 35 and the other two being side wall sections 36 having the short front wing 25 integral therewith.- The side margins 31 and 38 of the side wall sectionsat each of the rear corners 39 of the receptor are bent at right angles to the plane of the sections so as to be overlapped as at 40 'Ihe overlapping por- 'tions of the margins are providedwith registering openings through which connecting bolts are adapted to pass. A tight joint between the ,side wall sections is formed by clamping the margins 31 and 38 between outer and inner clamping members 4| and 42. The outer clamping member is in the form of an angle which extends down to and rests upon the upper edge of the receptor, i. e., the folded over portion l1 of the guard. The inner clamping member Y is here shown in the form of a diagonally extending corner piece having anges 43 thereon which lie parallel to the respective faces of the side wall sections and opposite the side margins of the flanges of the clamping member 4|. The member 42 'is advantageously faced with a resilient cushioning material 44 s'uch as rubber which is adapted to be tightly pressed against the inner face'of the side wall sections by the clamping action of members 4| and 42. This material not only insures a tight joint against leakage but eliminates vibration noises which would result from' a metal,to metal contact, owing to the impossibility of clamping the parts together so tightly as to prevent vibration or slight relative movement. The cushioning inaterial 44 is advantageously attached to the member 42 by eyelets or grommets 45 which clamp the material 44 to the member 42 and also provide openings 46 through which the clamping bolts 41 pass. The grommets 45 also serve in the nature of a gasket for the nuts 48 to prevent leakage at this point. The nuts are preferably of cap form to provide a nish and to prevent access of water to the bolt threads. The outer angle member il is provided with bolt projections or seats 49' at each of the bolt openings therethrough to provide a tight seat for the bolt heads 50. 'I'he projections 49 are advantageously welded to the angle members 4| around such openings. It will be apparent from the foregoing that the ability to form a tight joint at the comers does not depend on any stiffness of the metal of the side walls where the joint is made. Indeed, the metal may be quite thin and flexible without impairing the joint. The outer clamping member 4| whose anges lie opposite the flanges 43 of the inner clamping member 42 provides the strength and stiffness for tightly clamping the side walls and forming a leak-proof joint.

The manner of fabrication of the shower cabinet parts is such as not to require any xed procedure or routine for assembly, which may therefore be adapted to the conditions existing where the cabinet is to be installed. For example, if the cabinet is. to be installed in a small space such as a closet which will just receive the receptor, it is preferably firstv assembled to facilitate the placing 'of the angle clamps 4| and the insertion of the bolts from the exterior. Where there is plenty of room at the back corners of the cabinet, the receptor may first be located and connected with the outlet drain. It is preferably supported a short distance above the oor on supports 5I so as to provide a space for the drain connections. The side wall sections are then erected upon the receptor.

lIhe cabinet fittings such as the angles 2| and angle clamps 4| may advantageously be nished with black enamel so as to harmonize with the silver tone of the galvanized side walls. Without further decoration, the cabinet presents attractive appearance which of course is enhanced by the pairs of vertically extending lines formed by the ribs Il.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the cost of fabrication of the cabinet is relatively low. The side wall sections may be formed from light and easily handled pieces of sheet metal; and the ribs and side flanges are quickly and cheaply formed by use of a break or other eicent machinery. The elimination of additional decoration of course further reduces cost.

Obviously the invention is not limited to the details of the illustrative construction since these may be variously modified. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all features bf the invention be used conjointly since various features may be -used to advantage in different combinations and having' substantially unbroken interior surfaces. 1I

sheet metal side wens extending inside; the re- 'ceptor sides and connected thereto, and a guard member connected to the said receptor sides and extending inwardly of said receptor below said sides to deflect splashing water from direct access to the joint between said side walls and the receptor sides.

2. A shower cabinet of the character described comprising in combination a receptor, thin sheet metal side walls supported on the receptor sides and having inwardly projecting reinforcing ribs extending vertically, and a guard inside said receptor to deect water from escape through the spaces provided by said ribs.

3. A shower cabinet of the character described comprising in combination a receptor, thin sheet metal side walls supported on the receptor sides and having vertically extending reinforcing ribs, said ribs producing spaces between the receptor sides and said side walls, and a guard inside said receptor adjacent the lower edge of said side walls to prevent the escape of water through said spaces.

4. A knock-down shower cabinet of the character described comprising in combination a receptor formed of pressed sheet metal of relatvely thin gage and comprising a bottom and integral single thickness sides, the top edges of said sides being covered by a U-shaped strip to remove the sharpness of the edge, said strip extending down into said receptor and being formed adjacent the bottom of the side walls with a horizontally extendng rib, the sides of which diverge toward the receptor sides to deect water from access to the joint between the side walls and receptor.

5. A shower cabinet of the character described comprising in combination a receptor, sheet metal side wall sections supported on said receptor, said sections having adjacent margins bent at an angle to the plane of the section and overlapping at a corner of the cabinet, portions of the overlapping surfaces being imperforate and in contact to provide an imperforate joint, an Aexterior member engaging said sections adjacent said corner on the exterior of said cabinet, a vertical stilp on the interior of said cabinet extending vertisaid receptor, the adjacent side margins of said sections being bent at right angles to the plane of the section and being overlapped at the corner of the cabinet, portions of the overlapping surfaces being imperforate and in contact to form a joint, interior and exterior clamping strips covering said joint and engaging said overlapping sections adjacent said joint, and means for drawing said clamping strips together to cause said overlapping imperforate surfaces to form a leakproof joint.

7. A shower cabinet of the character described comprising in combination a receptor, sheet metal side walls supported on said receptor, said side walls being interrupted at one side of the cabinet to provide a door opening. and door stiles each formed of a strip of sheet metal bent into tubular form of rectangular section, the free side edges of said strip terminating at the surface of the stile and being separated to form a vertical slot in alignment with the respective side walls, the side wall margins adjacent said door opening being inserted through said slot into the interior of said stiles, a portion of the side wall inside the stile being bendable to lock the wall to the stile and said stile being unobstructed on its interior to allow the said side wall portion to be bent.

4ARTHUR E. JONES. 

